August 2025 Reads
Had most of a week off and read a lot. Had a dud to start with but the end of the month ended up pretty great. Looking forward to starting spooky season reads a bit early.
Does it Hurt? By HD Carlton 0.25/5 ⭐️, 4/5 🌶️ (the spice score is decreased by how terrible the sex is written and it became… boring in a dark romance). I kept hoping that the female main character would suddenly get a personality transplant and become less of a wasted space of humanity… yet it didn’t happen. Sawyer is plainly unlikable and wears this like a badge throughout the book as she picks whichever choice is most likely to cause either herself or someone else damage. Every time I might have started sympathizing with her, she would do something that was such a profound character turn off she had me noping out and putting this book down to wait for me to brace myself and remember that I hate DNF’ing books (yes I know there’s only so little time and so many books. It’s a personal failing and I’m gonna gripe about it). The couple in this book have zero reasons to stick together and neither of them is particularly likable nor do they have reasons to jump from loathing to ‘I love you and would die for you.’ Every other (and sometimes every) chapter has them having sex and tbh, the sex isn’t that good. There’s a lot of hate fucking going on in this book and then it supposedly changes but still stays rough. This book is a dark romance (which I understand) but the connecting bits don’t make up for the supposedly hot sex™️ which I’d like to argue that it’s not that well written or particularly hot (look, I object to how often the female main character talks about her clit throbbing and squirting—it ain’t sexy nor is the fact that the male character’s best described feature is his veiny cock. The sex weirdly got repetitive given how much of it there is and almost skippable because it was on the verge of boring which degraded the spice score of a book that is basically just one sex scene loosely connected to another.) The B plot (because the A plot was the terrible repetitive sex) is them being stranded on an island with a creepy lighthouse keeper and it felt thrown in there to remind us that there was a theoretical plot rather than being forgotten for 90% of the hate fucking. Another nitpickcy issue is that in the print copy I read the first pages of each chapter have a shark or lighthouse graphic covering the type that, while interesting, made it hard to read the print. The sharks that were used as icons for scene breaks were also weirdly large. This book did not need to be 400 pages. The cover is kinda cool? That’s a positive. The first page telling baby shark to to step aside because daddy shark is here was what got me to read this terrible waste of pages. I did bother to make the playlist listed at the front and it was meh if uneven. TL:DR? I’ve read better stuff on Watt Pad that I didn’t pay to read and I object to having paid for this schlock which did in fact hurt to read and I only finished it out of spite and stubbornness. Content warnings: dark romance/sex, rough sex, mentioned incest, unlikable MCs, breath play including almost drowning, pain kink, sex after injuries, not enough shark content. Category: Contemporary Romance. Dark Romance. Terrible books that you shouldn’t pay to read. Book tok lied yet again.
Mark Twain by Ron Chernow (combo audiobook/print). 4.5/5 ⭐️, 0/5 🌶️. Holy moly is this audiobook/book long (seriously, 30+hours when sped up slightly). Chernow wins all the awards for being long winded and thorough. As usual, Chernow winds his character study of his subject through the lifespan, pulling in their environment that shaped them as well as the people who influenced Twain as well as who he influenced. I would say I did not know much about Mark Twain prior to reading this book and after, I’m not sure I like the man. I have a much clearer version of the public figure that perhaps cartoonishly existed beforehand in my general knowledge of the man. Clemens was an irascible character who lived life larger than just about anybody else. He met and was friends with many luminaries of his day, had business dealings with titans of wall street and gained and lost multiple fortunes over the course of his life. His weird obsession with virginal females despite being known as the quintessential capturer of American boyhood a la Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn in an era that lives more in the imagination nowadays than being real, the way he abdicated his responsibilities at times as a father was maddening. Who was Samuel Langhorne Clemens? I’ve listened to an inexhaustible review of his life and I’m still not sure who he really was other than a one of a kind man that was born under Haley’s Comet and went out when it returned. I think this book is one that’s going to sit in my mind for a while—Chernow did a fantastic job and I recommend all his biographies. No spice. Category: Nonfiction, Biography.
Demon In White (The Sun Eater #3) by Christopher Ruocchio. 4.5/5 ⭐️, 1/5 🌶️. Okay, it only took until the third book in the series for me to get what everyone is saying about SunEater—this is a step up in quality from the first two entries in the series. It doesn’t solve quite all the weaknesses in CR’s writing, but almost everything is working in this entry in the series. The book itself almost feels like three or four different stories with the continued overarching plot of the series (okay, let’s call them acts… I suppose). What doesn’t land quite right is the ending battle. Action scenes remain CRs Achilles heel and for all that there was a lot going on in the last 200 pages, it felt at times too long and too fast (both a slog as well as a wtf ending). There was a lot of the battle that seemed unnecessary that a skilled editor could have cut down and the ending felt abrupt as Hadrian finally masters the trick that keeps him winning without allowing the reader to enjoy the cathartic fall as the action resolves into victory. The spice is quite limited as there’s a subplot about Hadrian possibly being paired with a princess but his relationship with Valka remains strong, if somewhat frustratingly opaque. We get told that Hadrian loves Valka, that he wants a family with her but there’s something in the writing that doesn’t quite work for me as a reader—Hadrian is almost desperate at times to convince the audience that he loves Valka and it just feels off to me. I’m not convinced that theirs is an epic romance—maybe because of the other relationship Hadrian had in the previous book and Valka felt very much an other woman type of character at that time when she and Hadrian got together. We’ll see if there’s any long term consequences of Valka’s actions in the next book. Category: Space Opera, Science Fiction.
Children of Ruin (Children of Time #2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky. 4.25/5 ⭐️, 0/5 🌶️. The feel of this second entry in the Children of Time series leans more heavily into horror as there’s an alien slime mold? I don’t know what to call the We that keeps going on Adventures and overtaking cognizant beings but it’s pretty horrific to watch character after character lose their sense of self to the alien Other. That said, AT does it again and weaves a memorizing tale out of octopuses and human hubris. The new aliens are fantastically alien in their thought and communication strategies, showing a creativity that seems boundless and makes me want to read more of ATs work—nobody else (or at least nobody else I’m reading) is writing stuff like this that pushes the boundaries of science fiction like this. It’s so refreshing to see the throwback to this type of Big Question Science Fiction being done so well. I’m putting AT up with the greats: Asimov, Heinlein, Leguin. Totally recommend this for anyone who is a fan of Star Trek style big question fiction. I’ve even gotten over my irrational ‘ick spiders’ thoughts when reading this one. Spice is almost nonexistent (there’s some vague notion of Baltiel and Senkovi having maybe had a chance at something unless I’m misreading the vague hints but Baltiel is too honorable to pursue Senkovi who appears to be on the asexual spectrum). Category: Space Opera, Science Fiction. Alien Octopi are Chaos Personified and I Have No Idea How They Get Anything Done™️, Big Question Science Fiction.
King of Sloth (Kings of Sin #4) by Ana Huang 4.5/5 ⭐️, 3/5 🌶️. Ana Huang finally hits this one just right (the half star deduction is because there is a 3rd act breakup which I categorically hate). Of the series, so far this is my favorite. i’m very curious as to how Vuk is gonna romance someone in the next one since the man doesn’t talk (could be interesting, could be weird) but we’ll find out. Sloane and Xavier were the great mix of golden retriever and black cat romance. They both had depth and emotions that worked, the relationship felt like it evolved naturally and the way they both grew as people together and separately felt perfect. The spice was good and well placed—no boredom from repetition here. Onward to King of Envy! Category: Contemporary Romance. Book tok actually got this one right.
Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke (audiobook) (bookclub read) 3.5/5 ⭐️ This book’s cardinal sin is that the author falls into the platitude trap. She presents her data well and in a thought provoking manner but then gets bogged down by less scientifically proven methods/treatments. Overall, was very thought provoking but was a tad on the long side for the information provided at the heart of the book with a lot of fluff surrounding that was perhaps unnecessary. The affected accents the author gave her patients also wasn’t necessary. I also never thought of Twilight as being a gateway drug, but who knew it could lead to a terrible romance book obsession? (The author’s—not mine. I have zero regrets about reading trashy romance novels as they’re great palate cleansers). I’m pretty sure this author read Does It Hurt by HD Carlton and liked it. Category: nonfiction, pop-science
The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune 4.75/5 ⭐️, 1/5 🌶️. Ah TJ Klune—if you’ve read anything else by him, you know what you’re in for. This is a queer robot retelling of Pinocchio. The main cast of characters become very endearing or are like nails on a chalkboard—there seems to be no in-between as the humor can be very teenage boy at times. Me, I liked them and rolled with Rambo-the-roomba’s anxiety, Nurse Ratched’s sociopathy and poor HAP’s confused falling in love. The romance between Victor and HAP was very sweet and I found myself grumbling that if TJK didn’t get them back together there would be *words* had. Gio the inventor was a great dad figure, up there with some of the best in literature. My one quibble would be that TJK is prone to philosophizing a bit too much and can ramble—I didn’t mind it terribly in this book but in his Green River series it got to the point where I needed to take a break from his writing. The spice is very minimal—mostly just kissing and references to other acts. Would recommend to anyone who liked TJK’s other works. And remember the rules: stick together, run if we have to, no dallying, no drilling, and above all else, be brave. Category: Modern Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Cozy Fantasy? (I thought it was pretty cozy but not everyone on the internet agrees)
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager 3.75/5 ⭐️, 1/5 🌶️. My first Riley Sagar book and gotta say, for like 80% of the book I was digging this ghost haunting story and trying to figure out what had happened to Billy. The ending twists had me deducting stars as it felt way out of left field and made the trying to figure out whodunit impossible. The vibes were on pointe for the first 80% and then it fell apart. The characters were well written and fleshed out, the misdirects appropriately followed down the rabbit hole until they were disproven but I suspect the author wrote themselves into a corner and thus the ending twists. *insert frowny face here*. I’ll give this author another chance but they’re on thin ice. Romance was minimal and there is a m/m kiss with some mild internalized homophobia that the side character gets over as they grow up. Other mentions of drug use, and obviously, this is a murder/disappearance mystery which has exactly what you might expect. Category: Thriller/Murder mystery
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu 3.5/5 ⭐️, 1/5 🌶️. What an odd book. Written as a screenplay, the books aims to illustrate the way that Asian Americans are often treated as second class citizens and alienated from other racial groups as told through the lens of a tv show where the generic Asian man aspires to become Kung Fu Guy but often doesn’t succeed (the glass ceiling here is that they cannot become a named star of the show unless you’re Bruce Lee who is in a whole different league than everyone else). There were times where I got lost in all the metaphors and wasn’t sure what was happening but the story drew me back in and I got back on track. I’m not sure it’s a great book but I did enjoy reading it. Marking it a 3.5 because I enjoyed myself but getting lost isn’t something a five star read does. I might revise this score upwards later—I have a feeling this book might stick in my brain for a while as it gave me a lot to think about identity and in-group belonging. I’m also rating this as a level one on the spice scale because there is some lingering on how to describe women in qipao and the main character does fall in love but there’s not so much as a kissing scene (so to say, it barely rates on the scale). Category: Contemporary literature, fiction, Asian American literature
Finders Keepers (Bill Hodge Trilogy #2) by Stephen King (combo audiobook/print) 4/5 ⭐️, 0/5 🌶️. Bill and Holly are on the case again. After their hair raising experiences of the first book, Bill has settled into life as a private detective (but still a Det Ret). Enter one literature obsessed kid who stumbles upon a goldmine treasure of his literary idol and one murderous literature lover and what’s not to like? This book follows in the footsteps laid by the prior story in the trilogy with enough breadcrumbs laid to pull us to the final book in the trilogy. Enjoyable. There’s mention of crimes including rape/prison experience but does not really rate on the spice scale as it’s used to horrify. Combo audiobook/print. Category: Horror, Thriller, Crime Mystery. Stephen King’s Holly Obsession.
The Medusa Protocol (Assassins Anonymous #2) by Rob Hart 4.25/5 ⭐️, 0/5 🌶️. We pick up after a brief time jump and this is mostly Astrid’s story but Mark plays a heavy role as her sponsor in Assassins Anonymous. Rob Hart does a fantastic job of pushing the action along while fleshing out backstory and giving the story emotional weight. For only being three hundred and a few pages, this story had a lot packed into it. The found family that Mark has built around continues to grow in detail and I’m looking forward to book 3 which has been announced: Three Hitmen and a Baby which is expected summer 2026. I’m curious who will be the focus of that book (I vote Booker since my other choice sadly died missing a hand in this book). Would also love to see Lucia’s story at some point. This was a quick and easy read, recommend if you enjoy action movies with soul. No spice in this one unless you count Astrid referring to occasionally being sent out as a honey pot/escort in her former life. Category: Thriller, found families, redemption stories.
Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1) by Matt Dinniman. 5/5 ⭐️, 0/5 🌶️. Reread that always holds up. Needed a palate cleanse and this is a guaranteed good time with the beginning of Carl’s and Princess Donut’s adventures. Category: Science fiction, Lit-RPG. You Will Not Break Me™️ literature. An audiobook everyone should experience.
The Spellshop (Spellshop #1) by Sarah Beth Durst 5/5 ⭐️, 1/5 🌶️. This book is like a hot mug of your favorite beverage on a cold winter day spent curled up reading. The protagonist is a librarian forced to leave her library by revolution and she retreats back to her home island with contraband/stolen spellbooks in tow. What follows is her learning where she wants to be, carving out a home and family while slowly falling for the local merhorse farmer. The conflict arises naturally and the solution pulls in plot seeds that have sprouted and grown. The book is full of everything cozy and if you enjoyed Legends and Lattes, this is a must read. There’s more romance here than L&L but it’s tame and spice is limited to kissing. This is just the read I needed after a few harder hitting, grittier reads. Category: Cozy Fantasy, Fantasy Romance
Jurassic Park (Jurassic park #1) by Michael Crichton 5/5 ⭐️, 0/5 🌶️ (audiobook/print combo). I’ve always loved the original two movies but never got around to reading the original books and … WOW. This is one of those cases that even though the movie is awesome, the book is even better if still tonally very different. Whereas the movie is action/adventure, this book is quite the horror/adventure novel. It’s a tale of hubris and of the human drive to survive. There’s things rearranged from later movies that happen in this book and things that are completely skipped over (the aviary). The kids are kids (Lexie is completely dinobait and I’m amazed that worse things didn’t happen). I plan on continuing on to the sequel at some point, really enjoyed this tale of science getting a capitalist over his skies. Category: Horror/adventure, Dinosaurs!
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2) by Matt Dinniman. 5/5 ⭐️, 1/5 🌶️. The continuing adventures of Royal Bodyguard Carl and Her Majesty Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk. The third level of the dungeon is your typical magical RPG environment but the spin that Dinniman puts on everything keeps it fresh. Carl and Donut end up taking on a few quests and encounter a show within their show, tying their fate to an Elite. Katia makes her entrance here and she’s very naive but awesome, setting up the next book’s plot. I’m continually amazed by how Dinniman interweaves details that seem minor when they’re encountered but have huge payoff later. With each book, we’re getting further down the road from the basic premise of a video game survival and becoming more of Carl’s villain origin story for the rest of the solar system (look if they weren’t such corporate or oligarchic assholes they wouldn’t deserve what’s coming for them). Carl’s choice of being a Compensated Anarchist™️ is so on brand for him and I love it. Spice rating is for the snick (think alien equivalent of a sex tape) featuring Carl and a certain orcish prince that may or may not have happened. Also, Carl accidentally gets ported to his interview naked because he forgets to re-equip his Big Boi Boxers. Category: Science fiction, Lit-RPG. You Will Not Break Me™️ literature. Another audiobook everyone should experience.
Savage Son (Terminal List #3) by Jack Carr 4.0/5 ⭐️, 1/5 🌶️. Reese’s string of bad luck continues to follow him, this time mixing him up with the Bratva. There continues to be an obsessive amount of detail about guns and Reese’s penchant for sweetening his Black Riffle Coffee with honey. However, underneath the action continues to be pressing and urgent, moving the plot along. Reese is beginning to develop a relationship with Katie (who herself has some spy-like tendencies) but the spice is completely tame as the focus remains on the action. Rafe is along for the ride this time, his family tragically involved as well. I confess if this was a romance series I’d want the story of Rafe wooing his wife as a sequel. There continues to a certain je ne sais quoi about this series that keeps me reading despite it not being my typical genre, however this ain’t no Tom Clancy. JC’s writing remains functional if over-reliant on telling you every exact step that Reese takes when doing simple tasks (such as the aforementioned coffee). This book won’t win any prose awards but remains a compelling story. Category: Military Thriller, Navy Seals Fiction written by former Seals.
Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell 2.5/5 ⭐️, 1/5 🌶️. Ye gads the tone and prose—you’re either going to not mind or it’s going to be like nails on a chalkboard (it’s chalkboard. Totally Chalkboard.). Written in first person (fine I guess) the author’s tonal choice of flippancy and colloquial modern prose really made everything feel juvenile (ugh). Hercules is a Himbo™️ as advertised, but the real character assassination is making the queen of Olympus impotent and indecisive as she attempts to get out of the guilt she feels for her actions. There’s a lot of running away from taking responsibility going on, and it made Hera’s part of the story fall completely flat (as if the tone it was told in wasn’t bad enough). What could have been a fresh take on the labors of Hercules turns into a repetitive slog, interspersed with Hera’s POVs that were disappointment after disappointment. The end felt uninspiring after slogging through three hundred plus pages. The spice is basically stuff like Hera finding Ares between Aphrodite’s thighs which is all handled with euphemisms for the most part. Category: Myth Retellings, Fantasy
Books in progress/next up:
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
The Wandering Inn, Vol 1, by Pirateaba
Current September TBR (very subject to change/random whims and in no particular order):
Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Local Woman Missing By Mary Kubica
The Future by Naomi Alderman
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
Kingdoms of Death (The Sun Eater #4) by Christopher Ruocchio
Children of Memory (Children of Time #3) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
King of Envy (Kings of Sin #5) by Ana Huang
The Witches of El Paso by Luis Jaramillo
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
The Bewitching By Sylvia Moreno-Garcia (bookclub read/Latino American Heritage Month Read)
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy #3) by Stephen King
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
